Author: azagenda

You didn’t have to ring in 2018 at Decadance to know that EDM is here in the valley and strong.

Dance music and what we know about it, just in the past year, has changed dramatically. Though dance music used to be an underground way of life, it has become more mainstream than ever before, which has caused quite the stir up in the industry. Some people are left shaking their heads in astonishment. Others are running to deposit their huge checks, though this is mostly DJs and talent agents. Regardless of how you react, dance music has caused many people to look into becoming a DJ, agent, manager, promoter, and even a publicist. Music is an industry that is glamourous on the outside, but it’s not always easy to break into, especially the dance music portion of the industry. You need to have a certain dedication, passion, and hours of time to make it happen, and you might have to put up with a lot of things like later nights and tears to get you where you want to be.

How it Started

EDM fans are in for a shock when they meet the newest addition to the electronic dance music party right in promoter area. Both Jamie and Turtle, of Rhogue Entertainment and a few from Relentless Beats AZ, have a passionate love for music, which is why last year, there were ready to get started. They have this uncanny ability to pack a venue with a superstar DJ and listeners who love EDM. The Midnight Masquerade of last year was a huge success that brought much of the attention to these two men by the talent supplier, Thomas Turner. Turner wasn’t the only one who turned their attention to the big change in EDM. The entire world was watching, and these two college kids, so passionate about music, were on to something bigger than anyone ever realized. They needed mentors, of course, which is exactly what happened when Turner and Troy Gilmore joined forces to help these two college kids find their dreams and make them a reality.

Taking the World by Storm

This year’s Midnight Masquerade was a huge success as well, with a line that extended further than before. Even buses full of partiers were being dropped off at the door by the hour. There was a bar, a stage, and beats, and music flowed all night long. The best Drum and Bass DJs were there, and people danced away the night to incredible music that is still taking the world by storm. It was an epic party, especially for the two college graduates, Jamie and Turtle. They came ready to party, and they found people there to listen and party along.

The world should watch out for these two because they are about to do great and awesome things in the EDM industry.

Medical marijuana is for adults, meaning you need to be at least 18 years old. If you under 18, you would need the approval of your parent or legal guardian; they would then register as your caregiver. You also need to make sure your driver’s license or other identification card is valid, i.e., not expired. You must also prove your Arizona residency, either on your ID or through a document such as a utility bill.

There will be some money involved in getting a medical marijuana card in Arizona. The state requires an annual fee of $75. If you are obtaining the card via SNAP/food stamps, then it’s reduced to $75. There will also be a fee for your doctor’s appointment, which ranges between $75 and $100.

To be prescribed marijuana by a doctor, you must have at least one of the qualifying conditions. These conditions are cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDs, hepatitis C, ALS, Crohn’s disease, and agitation of Alzheimer’s disease. You can also obtain it if you have a chronic medical condition or disease that causes cachexia (wasting syndrome), chronic pain (such as arthritis or migraines), extreme nausea, seizures, muscle spasms, and PTSD. If you have any doubt about whether you qualify, then you need to get in touch with a medical marijuana doctor and consult with them.

Once you have confirmed that you have one of the listed conditions, do your research and find a doctor who can prescribe medical cannabis. Once you make your appointment, go see your doctor. If they approve of your use of medical marijuana for your condition, they will send in documents to the Department of Health Services. Once those documents have been approved and the process is finalized, you will receive your medical marijuana card in the mail.

After you have your card, you will be able to obtain medical marijuana in Arizona through legal outlets. For purchase, you must go to a state-licensed medical marijuana dispensary. You can also receive medical marijuana from other people who are prescribed it via donation. For instance, if you or another person has a surplus of medical marijuana, you can then give it to another person who also has a prescription.

As a medical marijuana patient, you can also grow and cultivate your own marijuana. You must live within 25 miles of a dispensary. You are able to grow up to 12 plants for personal use or have a caregiver do it for you.

There is an expiration date associated with your medical marijuana card, so make sure that you are up to date on that and get it renewed it time. Just like you need to keep your driver’s license or state ID updated, you also need to keep your medical marijuana card updated.

We hope this has given you a concrete view of the steps involved to become an Arizona medical marijuana patient. If you have certain medical conditions, it can be of great benefit to you.

AZcentral is touted as the home page of Arizona. formerly in print known as the Arizona Republic this USA TODAY owned network website is great for local Phoenix new and Arizona updates about the surrounding communities and the SE Valley. Find more at the AZ Republic online portal at AZCentral

Retail businesses live for the holiday season. Sales ramp up as consumers become consumed with buying. They buy everything with a vigorous passion, and everything these days includes marijuana from a dispensary.

Believe it or not, in those states where medical and recreational marijuana is legal there is an increase in sales at local dispensaries during the holidays. It seems that some individuals have no problem gifting marijuana or cannabis supplies to family and friends that have a fondness for the herb.

Harvest of AZ a medical marijuana dispensary in Phoenix AZ and Scottsdale Arizona is one dispensary that reaps the benefits of a busy holiday shopping season. Owner Steven White has an interesting theory about why people either gift marijuana or buy a little extra for themselves around Christmas. “People need a discreet way to put up with their families,” says White. The dispensary’s owner also says that there is a particular increase in edibles and THC vape pen products, and she also thinks these products are good gift ideas.

Like all other retail establishments, marijuana dispensaries have begun to note a pattern to holiday sales saying “things slow down a bit in early November” before picking up again around Thanksgiving and Christmas. This budtender said that where January sees a decrease in sales that usually lasts for a couple of months has been a predictable pattern.

Marijuana edibles such as cookies were among the most popular items sold during the holidays. As Shahin mentioned, vaporizers were also high on the list of purchases. According to Baker, the data received from other states with legalized medical and recreational cannabis was in line with the data from Denver.

Dispensaries are even beginning to come up with their own shopping day nicknames like “Black Friday.” The day before Thanksgiving is referred to as “Weed Wednesday” and the day after is called “Green Friday.”

You can’t win if you don’t play is what many people call their losing investments in lottery fun. However one lucky Arizona native has won a multi-million dollar PICK jackpot this Christmas.

One Mesa resident woke up feeling extra merry this Christmas. A Southern Ave and Crismon RD Gas Station reported selling the winning $8.4 million PICK JACKPOT to a lucky shopper on 12-24-2016 between the hours of 9-6.

As of now the lucky Mesa lottery winner has selected to remain anonymous for the next for 90 days due to Arizona state law.

Up for grabs is a lump sum cash payment of about 5.63 million or a 30 yr annuity.

Although the area often reaches temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit during summer months, Arizona is quickly becoming one of the most popular places to live in America. The Copper State is home to several popular attractions, including the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest National Park, and professional sports teams belonging to all four major sports in America – NBA’s Phoenix Suns, NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks, and the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.

Recent statistics from the United States Census Bureau indicate that Arizona boasts the sixth-fastest population growth rate of the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, the nation’s capital, and minor outlying islands like Guam and the Virgin Islands. Seeing as Phoenix, the Grand Canyon state’s capital, hosts all four of these sports teams, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Phoenix Zoo, and tons of shopping malls and other things to do, cost of living is rapidly climbing.

Per rental information-gathering giant RealPage, the top luxury apartments in Tempe AZ and Phoenix monthly rent is a staggering $924, up 70-plus dollars from August of 2015. Demand for rentals began climbing alllll the way back in 2008, when the worst recession since the Great Depression hit the United States. Phoenix residents, much like everywhere else, couldn’t afford mortgage payments and expenses related to owning homes, opting for less-risky, formerly lower-priced apartments. Even further, the many millennials who populate the area either can’t afford to or opt not to purchase homes, causing rent to increasingly, well, increase.

Statistics indicate that mean apartment rent totals in metropolitan Phoenix, especially the highly sought-after suburbs of Scottsdale and Tempe, have risen steadily throughout the past two years, of which 22 of the past 23 months featured rent increases. Unfortunately for residents of Arizona’s Urban Heart, expenses associated with repairs, maintenance, and upkeep have skyrocketed in tandem with rent prices.

Although higher rent is bad news for local residents, investors and property development companies recognize the potential for apartment housing in Phoenix. This expected increase in total available apartments could cause average rent to decrease. Whether cost of housing sinks or not, investments made in metropolitan Phoenix will further stimulate its market, helping out the state of Arizona, Phoenix itself, and nearby cities in terms of economic growth.

A majority of the Valley’s apartments began construction in Tempe, known for its dense population of Arizona State University students, collectively making Sun Devils more abundant than any other postsecondary institution’s enrollment in the United States. High-end, luxury apartment complex were built, in particular, near to Arizona State University’s campus and the lake area.

Today, many pieces of land that had gone undeveloped for decades on end in downtown are now home to residential complexes, unarguably beneficial for its renting residents and the city of Phoenix itself. Scottsdale and parts of central Phoenix had several buildings and homes blown up, destroyed for the purpose of brand new construction. These areas are quickly becoming destinations for condos and apartments alike.

As anyone with the slightest knowledge of economics understands, the rise in rentable apartment housing will draw more people to Phoenix. Because apartments are significantly cheaper than renting homes – and buying houses, to that point – nearby residents will likely pour in to Phoenix, rather than shooing them away by being forced to sign long-term leases more often associated with residential housing.

Phoenix isn’t the only metropolitan area in the contiguous United States with increasing rents. Another metric by Trend Statistics shows that Phoenix is home to the fourth-largest increase in average monthly rent prices throughout the summer months of 2017. However, most metropolitan areas don’t consistently experience increases in housing costs, dipping downwards a few months per year. Phoenix is unique in its cost of living spikes, with apartment rent prices only losing value in one of the past 23 months.

Residents of Phoenix are likely to find more jobs, with a whopping 70,000 new occupational opportunities added in its metropolitan area from 2015 to 2016. Fortunately for the city, unfortunately for renters seeking abundant, affordable housing, only a fraction of rental housing units are up for grabs, with fewer than 5 percent of properties being void of renters. Statistics indicate that the price of rent is increasingly significantly faster than wages and annual salaries, making it rougher for the non-wealthy residents of Phoenix. Thanks to our friends at Apartments.com, we know that the median rent price is up an astounding 8 percent from 2015 to 2017, more than most areas in the entire nation of America. In comparison, salaries, wages, and other forms of compensation have only risen 2.4 percent in the metropolitan area of the city.

Some apartments cost as much as $2,000 per month, if not even higher. However, with these prices consistently increasing, so is the quality of life, and quality of apartment housing.

A bill was passed by the Arizona Senate on February 22 that allows the seizure of property from those who plan protests that become violent. If the bill, called SB 1142, moves forward into law, people could face charges of riot conspiracy and forfeit their assets even if they do not commit any acts of violence or criminal damage.

Police Riot Gear Phoenix

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John Kavanagh, an Arizona Republican senator from Fountain Hills, said the bill was drafted as a defense after protests in Berkeley, California, and Washington, D.C., turned violent. He added that “full-time provocateurs” now exist that constantly organize public chaos and disorder.

The Berkeley incident occurred on February 5 before a planned appearance by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos. A group, dressed like ninjas and armed with rods, bats, pepper spray and Molotov cocktails, arrived in the plaza and began attacking people. In light of the violence, the Yiannopoulos appearance was canceled.

Protests in Washington, D.C., became violent during President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Although police kettled the various groups along the parade route, they managed to break windows, steal merchandise and set a car on fire. By the end of the day, over 200 people had been arrested. In contrast, the Women’s March on Washington the next day did not have violence or arrests.

Arizona Democrats were dismayed by the bill, which blocked the only path to speaking out against Donald Trump because now the State of Arizona wants to sell your house for fast cash . SB 1142 also provoked reactions from citizens in Arizona and other parts of the country. Law professor Jessica West, who teaches in Washington state, said the bill is an attack on the right for people to protest.

The bill would make rioting a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) offense and allow authorities to enforce forfeitures when someone is convicted under those laws. SB 1142 is written in such a way that an obvious act of violence would not be required for prosecution, which means those who only plan a protest but do not participate in violence can be held legally accountable for those who do.

If a building is destroyed during the course of a protest, a prosecutor could demand restitution through leins or forfeiture of property owned by the organizers. Aside from the property damage, recovery costs could be sought as well, which could easily bring financial ruin that would be very difficult to recover from.

Maricopa County attorney Rick Romley said the bill was “absurd.” As an example, he described a town hall meeting where an individual became angry and decided to punch the wall. Aside from the unsightly hole, there was sheetrock damage that required repair. Romley said it was “insane” that the organizers of the meeting would be held liable for bringing the group together and could face severe legal penalties for a wall punch.

He added that it was unlikely SB 1142 would be found constitutional. Every citizen of the United States has the right to assemble and protest under the First Amendment, and such a law would would be put under immediate challenge in the court system. He concluded by saying that state leaders need to take a stand and tell the senate that the law is wrong.

Kavanagh, who served as an Arizona police officer for many years, said bills like SB 1142 are a necessary protection against those who push for violence at protests and put the lives of officers at risk while destroying property. Twelve officers were shot at and five were killed at a protest turned violent in Dallas, Texas, in June 2016.

After being passed in the senate, the bill was sent to the house for consideration and voting. It was reported on March 6 that due to pressure exerted by the media and others concerned about First Amendment rights, the Arizona House decided not go forward with SB 1142. The bill is now dead.